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Pro-active, meaningful and properly evidenced training initiatives should not be confined to just your advisers

Many business owners, because of the recession and the need to reduce costs, have cut administrative staff and used other functions to fill those gaps - or bosses have looked at their admin staff and encouraged them to gain other skills and qualifications by becoming para-planners, for example.

Ensuring your business has a pro-active, meaningful and properly evidenced training programme can help develop potential and this should not be confined to just your advisers, according to Tim Parsons, business transition director of Succession Advisory Services.

Training can also be a powerful retention tool and incentivisation tool, he added.

Mr Parson said: “I would advise business owners, as part of their rigorous recruitment, staffing and retention plan, to sit down with each member of staff at the beginning of the year or when they start, and agree with them their role, establish the relevant training or CPD objectives for the year, plan how to fulfill these objectives and record the evidence, outcomes and benefits of performing these activities.

“But, what constitutes structured CPD? What evidence is required to show activities are undertaken or attended? How useful is one particular training course over another?

“You may find that you struggle for time to complete this. But whether it is you or your head of HR or the operational manager of your firm, this is an excellent way to keep on top of staff development, grooming of individuals into different, perhaps more challenging roles, or indeed, a good way to gain evidence should you need to get rid of a staff member if they are not performing.”